Neonomora – “Be Still, My Soul”

Neonomora has exactly what it takes to become a true international superstar. After taking in the Indonesian-born solo-artist’s third single “Be Still, My Soul” from her upcoming record Waters, I can tell you personally it doesn’t take much more than this to convince my ears we’ve found something truly special here in review today.

It’s honestly like ‘where do I even start?’ type-good…I can pretty much riff on any aspect of this song from writing to performance to production and end up words-deep in the middle of high-praise and accolades for what Neonomora has achieved on “Be Still, My Soul.” The evolution of the sound in the song is spectacular…subtle, sweet and captivating as it builds to eventually reveal the intense emotion, strong tones and passion on display in Neonomora’s voice. I liked the ‘frozen in time’ suspension that this song comes with through its sound and atmosphere…it’s got such a powerful & stunning sound that nothing else around matters when this song is on; it’s guaranteed to hold your attention.

A lot of that captivation comes through the spectacular writing. Though the music itself is fairly bare and minimalist in style – Neonomora has expertly put in just the right amounts of everything here to keep the music strong to the melody she creates in her flowing, beautiful vocals. The first time you hit the chorus at about ninety-seconds in or so…you’ll notice the bar gets immediately raised to that next-level. I’ll put it to you this way…I was enjoying myself just fine throughout the verse…but once that chorus came around I realized we were dealing with an entirely different kind of songwriter here…in all the right ways. “Be Still, My Soul” has all the hallmarks in the writing of a classic like Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” and the haunting, yet gorgeous way that song was originally sung by Sinead O’Connor. Power meets emotion sincerely here within the melody of “Be Still, My Soul” – and Neonomora connects to us as listeners with heartfelt passion echoing into the mic through her graceful and inviting approach; and with the music being much of an accent to what she’s singing – she carries the weight of the song on her shoulders with confidence…and delivers flawlessly.

The soul-soothing sounds of “Be Still, My Soul” are more than extraordinary – this is a melody that truly shines through its gorgeous repetitions and sweetly hypnotic vibe. There’s a truly artistic approach to this song…and the way she commands this gentle rhythm with such authority is more than commendable. No joke…listen to the confident tones that come through the verse as she heads towards the 2.5 minute-mark and you’ll hear that same confidence and stunning tone that has made Beyonce a world superstar five-times over. Neonomora truly has the songwriter & artist’s gift – you can hear it easily through the stunning performance she puts into this new single.

So…am I excited for Waters, the full album she’s putting out soon? YES! More than excited at this point; everything I’ve heard in this single has me really believing in this artist…Neonomora really sounds like one of the leaders of the tomorrow I always hope will come. From what I’ve read, she’s made all kinds of fantastic choices in effort to find unique rhythms & melodies through diverse instrumentation and a versatile sound that will expand through many genres & styles. If the quality and confidence level is at the same par as what I’ve heard on “Be Still, My Soul” – it’s not going to just be another album when it comes to Neonomora’s Waters…it’ll be the kind of music that truly connects to us all as listeners deep inside our core…music with the power to heal and unite the people out there.

Beyond impressed with what I’ve heard here from Neonomora; “Be Still, My Soul” is entirely beautiful throughout its entire five & a half-minutes…and for those of us out there like myself who weren’t familiar with her music yet – this single really hits the mark for enticing me into the record to follow. Truly grade-A material in every aspect – Neonomora is breathtakingly angelic, graceful, uplifting and empowering throughout her performance on “Be Still, My Soul” and really created a song that makes a massive impact on the ears and on the heart. Beautiful.